Black Past
by Dingo
Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side? rewritten, reposted, new content
1. The Black Ranger

Title: The Black Ranger

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, Saban and some guys whose names I can't spell do. I do own Ty, and anything you don't recognise from Power Rangers canon.

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: The seeds have been planted. Will the Rangers concede defeat against one they can't fight against?

Rating: Probably PG, maybe PG-13. Could even be heading for a PG-15

Warnings: Slash pairings further on. Mentions torture. 

Note: I rewrote this nearly entirely in the beginning of November 2003, so if you've already read this story I suggest you re-read it. This chapter at least. It may make a little more sense in the long run, and it is also a better story overall – Ty has become less of a Mary Sue. This is dedicated to 'Bone and Chelsea – it's been a long time, girls.

Lightning crackled overhead, and Adam shivered. He was trying to figure out why this place felt familiar – he was quite certain he had never been in a green and purple field. He tried to say something, but no sound came from his mouth. Adam frowned – evidently the faint sound of far-off thunder was the only noise allowed here.

Without warning piranatrons appeared, surrounding him totally. He assumed a fighting stance and proceeded to kick butt. Just as suddenly as they had appeared the remaining piranatrons vanished. The Korean looked around in confusion as he place started getting darker, but his vision improved until he had better sight now than before.  

Kat, Tanya, Tommy, Rocky and a strange girl abruptly appeared, walking along a pathway that had appeared as strangely as they did. All had smiles on their faces and were laughing at Rocky, as his old friend was dancing somewhat like a constipated penguin. He puzzled over both that and the girl for a moment. Then suddenly he could see the threat that stalked them from the shadows. 

He tried to yell a warning but there was no sound here. Adam felt sick before…everything was stripped away. The caring inside him, the love, the friendship…it was gone.

He felt happy. Happy that his friends and an innocent girl were about to be killed. 

He screamed. In a tiny part of his mind he screamed. 

As his friends dropped, they stared at him; five pairs of accusing eyes watching him as his friends lay dying. It was only then that he saw the threat clearly. 

It was himself.  
Adam sat bolt upright in his bed. His eyes glowed an eerie black for a moment before he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. That same nightmare had been in his dreams for weeks.  
  
  
  
That same morning a girl was hurrying through a park, even though she wasn't going anywhere. She heard a sound from behind a large oak tree. She stopped. She glanced around curiously. 

There was no one there. 

She looked around confused. 

Shrugging, the girl sat on a nearby bench and started to read a book. Fully immersed in only a few moments, it took her a while to realise there was a slight weight on her head. 

She touched her hair with her hand and realized she had a small pile of leaves on her long brown hair. "Hey! Stop it!" she said indignantly, looking around while furiously brushing the leaves off her head. "Show yourself!" 

The tree behind her creaked slightly like it was answering her. 

"What the..." She glanced up for the first time and noticed movement in the branches. "Come down from there before you hurt yourself!" she said, thinking it was a little kid.  
"I won't hurt myself." The voice was laughing, playful. "But, if you really want me to come down, okay!" There was a flash of green and black as the boy hung upside-down, with only his bent knees keeping him from falling. He laughed at her shocked face. "Okay, okay. I'll come down." Then the boy lifted himself up back onto the branch, flipped off the branch and landed on his feet in front of her. He turned around and she could see that he was at least as tall as she was, probably a fraction taller. He was wearing a plain green sweatshirt and black jeans. The boy sat, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "Sit…I haven't been known to bite people. Not right away, anyway." She sat next to him, aware that he was watching her every move. She smoothed her black skirt and purple blouse self-consciously. She decided to speak first, but he beat her to it. "You look so familiar. Do I know you?"  
"I don't know. I'm Ty. And you are?"  
"Let's just say I'm the mystery man." He winked.  
"Okay then, mystery man. Do you go to Angel Grove High?"  
"Yeah, the expensive school."  
"Your folks rich or something?" Ty asked.  
"Or something. I got a part-scholarship. The school pays for my classes; I pay for everything else. I've got to get my own way through school."  
"Why do you go? You've finished your mandatory, haven't you?"  
"Yeah, but I want an education. Someday, far on the horizon, I'll move, then I won't be able to just rely on my... um...whatever I rely on now."  
"Which is?"  
"I dunno." The boy flashed a sheepish grin. "Anyway, enough about me. Why are you so interested?"  
" 'Cause I'm gonna go there. How old are you?"  
When he told her, she was surprised. "I'm two years older than you and I just barely got in. What are you, a genius?"  
"No."  
Ty heard a sad tone in his voice. "What's the matter? Come on, tell Aunty Ty."  
" 'Genius' just reminds me of one of my best friends. He was a total genius. I think he broke the world record IQ or something."  
"Where is he now?" Ty asked quietly, sensing she was getting close to a touchy subject.  
"He moved. A long way away."  
"You must have been really close to him."  
"Oh yeah. I spent most of my time with him and my friends. We were really...to use your word...close."  
Ty looked down. "Must be nice…having really close friends."  
Before the boy could ask what she meant, a beeping noise broke the moment. Ty reached into her pocket, pulling out a beeping pager. "I gotta go. See you later?"  
"Yeah, I'll be around."  
"Okay. Find me!"  
"Mystery man will not fail in his valiant quest."  
She rolled her eyes at him and he laughed. "Bye!"  
"Bye to you too." The boy stared after her for a second. Then he shrugged. "Why did I say that?" He shook his head. His 'watch' beeped.

"Adam? Where are you man? It's ten forty. You're supposed to have met us at the Youth Club ten minutes ago."  
"Be right there, Monkey-boy."  
"You know I hate that nickname!"  
"Okay, okay. Adam out."

The Green Turbo Ranger rubbed his nose as he glanced after Ty. "Nice girl," he muttered. "Pity she's not my type."  
  
  
The next day was bright and cheerful, the typical day where half the school begged off classes and headed to the beach. Kat was not one of them. She headed towards her locker, reading a textbook as she went. Mr. Henderson had an annoying habit of scheduling tests just after a monster from Divatox had been fought by the Power Rangers.

Kat stopped just before her locker - some strange girl was trying to open it. "What are you doing?" Kat asked when she was near enough.  
"I'm trying to get into my locker without deciding to rip it off its hinges. And you?"  
"Trying to figure out why any other girl in her right mind would try to get into my locker." Kat looked at her long brown hair and laughed. "I presume you are a girl? And that you aren't insane?" She took a piece of paper out of the brunette's hands. "Your locker is...ah...thataway," she said, reading it and pointing up the hallway.  
"Oh my God... you mean this is yours? Sorry...sorry," she repeated backing down the hallway.  
The friendly looking girl with the soft accent was watching her with a smile on her face.  
"Don't worry about it."

"Pay up Tanya," Tommy said laughing.  
"Alright. How do you know her so well?" Tanya asked the laughing boy, while handing over a couple of bills.  
Kat looked at her boyfriend and best friend with a little confusion. "Someone clue me in?"  
"Tommy and Tanya had a bet going. If you helped the new girl before lunchtime, Tommy won," Rocky stated, slinging an arm around Tanya.  
"Okay…sorry Tanya." Kat closed her locker and turned to her friends. Rocky was dressed mostly in blue, Tommy in red and Tanya in yellow. She herself was dressed mostly in pink. The bell rang, cutting off what she was thinking. "Where's Adam?" she asked, missing his dark green in the colourful crowd.  
"Dunno. Probably off somewhere by himself like usual," Tanya sighed. Everyone else muttered agreements and affirmations that they hadn't seen him.  
"Meet you all at Ernie's after school?" Tommy questioned.  
"Righto, fearless leader," Rocky saluted. He and Kat headed off to class – they shared the same first period class.  
"I'll tell Adam," offered Tanya. "I have biology with him second."  
  
  
  
The girl stood at the front of the classroom. The teacher took pity on her and said, "Class, settle down... come on, settle down. Today we have a new student...Typhus Merina. Why don't you tell us something about yourself Typhus?"  
Adam, who was passing the classroom, wondered at the name and why it seemed familiar. He shrugged it off and kept walking, without noticing the girl in the classroom. In the room Typhus stepped forward and said, "If my name sounds familiar it's no surprise since I'm actually a disease." Laughter rippled softly through the smarter people in class. Typhus continued, "And the only people who call me Typhus are my grandma and doctors. I prefer Ty."  
The teacher then called out, "Now, who wants to show Ty around for her first day?" She spotted Kat in the third row. "Kat. How about you show Ty around the school? Just until she knows her way around."  
Kat shrugged. "Sure."  
The teacher then showed Ty to her seat and proceeded to teach the class in the most boring way she knew. Ty smiled shyly at Kat as she sat down, and Kat grinned back. "Hi," she mouthed.

Suddenly Ty wondered why she had been nervous about this school.  
  
  
After class, Kat found Ty and asked, "Did you find your locker? I was wondering about you after you left."  
"Yeah, I found it. Hey, do you know where to eat around here?"  
"Yeah, I'll show you."  
At the Youth Centre, Kat saw his some of her friends and asked Ty, "Do you want to sit with us?"  
"Who's 'us'?"  
"Me and my friends. They won't bite, except for Rocky." Ty looked slightly alarmed. "But the last time he did that, the girl slapped him. I think he learnt from the experience."  
Both girls giggled. "Okay." Kat and Ty walked up to the 'Ranger table'. Rocky was studying and Tanya was assisting.  
"OK, the bookworms are Tanya..."  
"Hey." The girl smiled welcomingly at her.  
"And Rocky..."  
"How ya doin'?" Rocky smiled, "Thank the Lord, a relief from chemistry."  
"Rocky, you're studying biology," Tanya corrected him.  
"Chemistry, biology, same thing."  
"That's Tommy teaching his karate class and I dunno where Adam is. Everyone, this is Typhus, or Ty."  
Ty sat. There began the interrogation by her friends.  
"So...how long have you been here?" Rocky inquired.  
"About two days. My parents moved."  
"Why?" Tanya wanted to know.  
"My dad got transferred."  
Ty seemed mesmerized by Tommy's class, and suddenly stood and walked over to where he was practicing.  
Tommy bowed to his students before glancing up. "Hi, Tommy right?" Ty asked.  
"Yeah…"

"Hi, I'm Ty."

Tommy shook her hand. "Hey, Ty. What can I help you with?"

"You seem to know a lot of people around here – you wouldn't happen to know of a good female martial artist I could spar with?" Ty questioned. "I mean, I'm pretty good but I'm not used to sparring against a guy…"

Tommy grinned. "Never fear…Tanya!" The ebony-skinned girl walked over after exchanging a glance with Rocky. "This girl wants a fight. You're gonna give it to her."  
"You sure you want to spar?" Tanya asked, noting that even though Ty was tall, she was still very thin and looked like a hard wond might topple her.  
"I'm sure."  
The two girls then proceeded a warm-up.  
"Fight!"  
The girls circled each other, waiting for the first move. Then Ty came in so quickly Tanya didn't know what happened. One second she was watching Ty and the next Ty was helping her off the floor. The other rounds were exactly the same. The score ended up being 0-9 in Ty's favor.  
"Wow," Tanya said, after Ty had helped her up nine times in a row.  
"Wow," Ty echoed, rubbing her knee. "You've got a unique style. I like it."

"Adam and Tommy could never decide on what to teach me, so I just got taught the best of both worlds."  
"Which worlds?"

"Karate, kung-fu, boxing…and Kat decided to chip in with kickboxing techniques."  
"I heard my name…" Kat interjected. "And you said you wanted to learn!"

A dark-haired man entered the room then and headed for the mats where they were standing. He removed the bandanna from his head before tying up his hair and watching them from a little outside the group.  
Kat started introducing them. "Adam, this is..."  
"Ty, isn't it?"  
"My mystery man…how did I know you'd pop up?"  
"I did not fail in my valiant quest," Adam intoned.  
"Okay," said Kat in total bewilderment. "Obviously you know each other."  
"Yeah. We met in the park yesterday."  
"So that's why you got held up!" said Rocky knowingly. Adam blushed. "Adam's going re-ed, Adam's going re-ed…" Rocky sang under his breath.

"Shut up Rocko…"  
Tommy glanced between Adam and Ty, noticing similar heights. "You two should spar," he said suddenly.

"Huh?" both said at the same time.

"Adam, you and Ty should spar," Tommy said slowly, as if speaking to a child.   
Adam shrugged. "Have you won against someone?"  
"Yeah. Me," alleged Tanya, rubbing her elbow.  
"Okay. Boxing, karate, kung-fu, combination, other?"  
Ty was astounded that he sprang into character so quickly. He had seemed so...harmless. Like a big teddy bear. "Anything. Taps only," she said quickly, before the amazement showed in her face.  
Adam stuck out a hand. Ty shook it.  
They circled. A fraction of a second before Ty was about to strike, Adam moved and the jab missed, leaving her open to a quick touch to the top of her head. Ty hissed slightly before sweeping Adam's feet from under him. However, Adam rebounded and was on his feet scant milliseconds after Ty was back on hers, and was able to zip a touch past her defenses to her shoulder.

As Ty started to get into Adam's rhythm something beeped, and all five teens stopped what they were doing.  
"Gotta go. Bye!" Tommy said quickly, the other four already gone.  
"…bye!"  
Ty looked after them curiously, wondering where they were going in such a hurry.  
The Rangers teleported to the Command Center and found Kat already trying to calm Alpha5, who was hysterical.  
"Aiaiaiaiai... Rangers there is a problem."  
"There is a monster called in Piranha Plant in Angel Grove Park. But beware, it can take form of any living thing and can..."  
Zordon was cut out abruptly. "Aiaiaiaiai. The last time this happened Zordon was almost destroyed." Alpha5 was hysterical...for a robot that is.  
"Relax, Alpha. You get Zordon back and we'll turn this plant into mulch," said Rocky.  
"SHIFT INTO TURBO!"  
"WIND CHASER TURBO POWER!" called out Kat.  
"DUNE STAR TURBO POWER!" cried Tanya.  
"MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER!" yelled Rocky.  
"DESERT THUNDER TURBO POWER!" Adam shouted.  
"RED LIGHTNING TURBO POWER!" Tommy roared.  
The Rangers teleported to Angel Grove Park and found Piranha Plant was terrorizing a group of children.  
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Tommy yelled while Tanya aimed her blaster. The shot hit him square in the chest, and made the monster fall. The kids quickly ran off, Rocky shifting discreetly to check they got away okay.  
"Ah... the Power Pukes. I was just amusing myself till you showed up." 

Without warning vines were shot at each of them. One at each of the girls, two at Rocky and three at Tommy. But the worst person hit was Adam, with five vines trying to cut off his air. The Piranha Plant withdrew its vines and watched the badly hurt Rangers fall to the ground.  
"That was just a taste of what you're getting into. Living Leaves!" The leaves covered the Rangers, making it impossible to move. While all the Rangers were distracted, Piranha Plant zapped Adam with a beam that knocked him unconscious and teleported him to Divatox's submarine.  
"Thanks for the help, Rangers," he sneered. "Bye!"  
As soon as the monster disappeared the leaves vanished. The Rangers fell to the ground. Suddenly the Rangers were teleported to the Command Center.  
"Everyone alright? Good," said Tommy.  
"Where's Adam?" asked Tanya, panicked.  
"He wasn't with you. I would have teleported him. Aiaiaiaiaiaiai!" said Alpha.  
  
  
Adam woke in a dark room, tied down on a bench, unmorphed. "What the hell is going on?"  
"Nothing good, my little Green Ranger." The pirate caressed his hair before turning. Adam's eyes watered slightly; she hadn't bothered to untangle her hands form his hair before she turned. "PORTO!" Divatox yelled.  
"Yes, my queen?"  
"Take a sample and give it to Piranha Plant and get the potion. HURRY!"  
"Of course."  
The mutant that disturbingly resembled a marshmallow came over to Adam and took part of Adam's long hair in his hands. He cut off a piece and walked out of the room. He came back in a few seconds. "Here it is, my queen."  
"Excellent." Divatox waited as nothing happened. "Are you stupid? GIVE IT TO HIM!"  
"Indeed, my queen," Porto shivered. He uncorked a small, plain bottle full of some murky liquid.  
"This potion will make you do whatever I tell you. You'll even destroy the Power Rangers!" Divatox crowed.  
"No." Adam whispered.  
Porto poured a small amount into a container and held it to his lips. It was a black, thick substance that smelt foul. Adam struggled, and knocked the container out of Porto's hands. It spilt on the floor and made a shiny black puddle. The Green Ranger continued his struggle but saw a figure coming into the room. 

It was himself! 

Adam's mouth dropped in shock and Porto seized the opportunity and poured a decent amount of the potion down his throat. Adam went limp. Divatox squealed and snapped her fingers. Suddenly he opened his eyes. Adam's eyes glowed with light.  
"What is it you want me to do?" He spoke in a monotone.  
Divatox grinned. "I want you to destroy the Power Rangers."  
  
  
The next day Rocky waited at the bus stop. He knew it was stupid, but he thought that Adam might turn up. The school bus arrived and he got on, glancing around one last time for his friend. "Wait!" someone yelled. "WAIT!"  
ADAM? Rocky couldn't believe his ears or eyes. Rocky had to beckon Adam over. Adam looked at him like he didn't even know him. Adam sat down next to him. "What the heck happened yesterday?" Rocky asked.  
"I'll tell you when we get to school." Adam looked sort of weird, like he didn't sleep last night.  
  
  
At school with everyone gathered around him, Tanya asked, "What happened? We were fighting Piranha Plant, we got covered in leaves then you disappeared." Adam told his story. "I was with you guys fighting Divatox's monster when suddenly everything disappeared. I was in a park then... I dunno. Everything went black." Everyone was quiet. Ty came up to the group.  
Adam looked at her. "Who are you?"  
"You idiot." Ty switched her gaze to Tommy.  
"Tommy... you still owe me a fight."  
"I do? Do I?"

"Yeah, you do."

"Okay…I do."

Tommy and Ty went over to the mats. "Fight!"  
Tommy's mind wasn't on the fight so Ty beat him quickly, although not easily. "Hey, no fair! I've got a headache."  
"Why Tommy, didn't you know? Headache is one of the symptoms of typhus." Ty smiled sweetly while everyone groaned.

"Oh, bad joke. Very bad," Rocky groaned.

"When the king of bad jokes says it's bad, it's really bad," Kat quipped.  
Tommy's communicator went off, cutting out everybody's laughter. "We gotta go. Bye!"  
Ty glanced after them, still wondering where exactly they hurried off to.  
"Rangers! There is an unidentified Ranger at the park. You need to go there immediately."  
"Okay then. Alpha, have you got Zordon back yet?"  
"Not yet Rangers."  
"Okay Alpha. Teleporting now."  
  
  
When the molecules of the Rangers congealed again, they saw the unidentified assailant blasting things out of his way. It was like a distorted version of a morphed Ranger – with black armor and a black helmet, resembling Tommy's Green Ranger suit.  
"Hey, numbskull! Over here!" yelled out Rocky.  
The Ranger, drawn by Rocky's shouts, turned around and was greeted by a foot in his chest armor, courtesy of Adam. He surprisingly didn't stumble back like anyone else would in his position, instead holding his ground and not even flinching. "This guy's like the one on Phaedos," he told the others. "He's practically made of rock!"  
The Ranger snorted at the mention of Phaedos. "Oh, what are you gonna do about it hey frog? You gonna get your falcon and ape buddies to help you? Too bad the rest of your little animal friends can't help you now."  
"What's he talking about?" Tanya asked, confused.  
"Our spirit animals. Mine is a falcon, Adam's a frog, Kim's a crane, Billy's a wolf, Rocky's an ape and Aisha is a bear," Tommy explained to the newest member of the team.  
"Don't. Say. One. Word," Rocky growled.  
"No more chatting. Time for fighting!" 

The Black Ranger charged. The Rangers tried to defend themselves, but they went down against the more powerful Ranger. In only a matter of moments he was standing, victorious. He suddenly cocked his head. "Whoops. My queen's calling. Love to stay but here's a goodbye." The Ranger fired laser shots at all the Rangers before disappearing. 

In flashes of their respective colours the Rangers were teleported back to the Command Center. Tommy was the only one who didn't collapse, but then again he was the only one teleported next to a console.

"Strong dude," Rocky muttered.  
  
  
"Zordon! You're back!" Alpha exclaimed as he locked onto the Eltarian. With a flash of blue energy the sight of Zordon's face reappeared into his time warp.  
"Alpha. I need to warn the Rangers."  
"About what, Zordon?"  
The bluish head fizzled for a moment. "Don't trust...Adam..."  
"Zordon! Aiaiaiaiai!"  
  
  


The ominous beeping of Tommy's communicator disturbed everyone's thoughts. Rocky glanced up from his futile exercise in completing his biology homework that the last call had interrupted. Tanya and Kat groaned in unison as the noise disrupted their concentration – their nails were the real victims of a 'duty call'. "We gotta go," Tommy murmured.  
"Adam! C'mon," Kat yelled. 

Adam rolled his eyes from his place at the bar. "Um…might as well keep those on hold," he advised the portly man behind the counter. He only shrugged.

Kat touched his shoulder. " Are you feeling OK?" she asked, noting Adam looked somewhat…different.  
"I'm fine. But…I've gotta show you something. It'll only take a second."  
Kat glanced back behind her and saw that everyone had already headed out. "Quick," she said. Adam crooked a finger at her and walked her around the back where no one was around.  
So there was no one to hear her scream.  
  
  
"Where are Adam and Kat?" Alpha asked Tommy.  
"I dunno."  
Adam suddenly appeared in a shower of green sparks. "Adam, where's Kat?"  
The Korean shrugged. "I didn't see her."  
"She'll have to catch up later. Rangers, Zordon came back - he tried to tell me something!"  
The alarm went off, and instinctively everyone looked at the viewing globe. "Divatox always had perfect timing," muttered Tanya.  
"Rangers! Hello," the evil Ranger in the viewing globe snarled. "Come out and play? Especially if you want your little friend back." The screen showed Kat for a minute, struggling against rope bonds. "If you need a little help, search C-94 galaxy. There's a little friend of yours there. You might need him to fight against me." The guy bowed. "I await your presence." The picture flickered.  
Adam snickered. "Gods, I thought they were smart," he muttered.  
"What?" Tanya asked.  
His smile increased. "I would have thought it was obvious."  
Tommy stepped forward, not liking the smile on his second-in-command's face. "Adam, what is it?"  
"I'm not Adam." He pointed a single finger at a console beside Rocky and it exploded. Rocky ducked for cover as Tommy darted forward. Unfortunately Adam was too quick, and he teleported out in a flash of green leaves.  
"Great," Tommy groaned. "Evil Adam and an evil Ranger."  
"We need Zordon," Rocky groaned.

"I think we should follow what that guy said, you know, search in C-94," Tanya offered. "Even if it is a dead end, it can't hurt."  
Tommy nodded. "I suppose so. We've got nothing better to do. Set the computer to search C-94 Galaxy for Zordon. If you find him, bring him here." 

Rocky started typing quickly into the computer. "Tanya, see if you can repair Alpha. Meanwhile, I think I saw where Kat was."  
"Ay-ay, captain. See ya Tommy." Rocky had already begun the long search for Zordon.  
  
  
Tommy materialized out the back of the Youth Centre. He walked around the corner when he heard someone yell "Hey!" A feminine yell. "Tommy? It's Ty. What are you doing back here? It's closed."  
"What are you doing back here more like it. I'm looking for Kat."  
"Need a hand?"  
"I wouldn't mind." Tommy glanced around, vaguely recognising the alley from a few times he had needed to duck in to teleport. "Okay…last time I saw her she was next to the bins."  
They walked around the bins and found Kat. She wasn't tied up. In fact she was standing up, waiting for them.  
"Kat!" Tommy sighed in relief, quickening his pace to the Pink Ranger's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
"Get off me Tommy." Kat's voice was cold. She stepped away from them and removed something from her wrist. She threw it at Tommy's feet. 

Tommy picked it up and saw it was her communicator. "What the heck are you doing?"  
"Obviously, I was right when I said none of you were smart."  
"Piranha Plant," Tommy said quietly, without emotion.  
"Ding-ding-ding! Give the Red Ranger a prize. I hate to go but there's a party in the park. See you soon…" She disappeared in a wave of green vines.  
"Okay, I need an explanation...like right now!" Ty said in confusion, voice loud with frustration.  
"Short version? Adam, Rocky, Tanya, Kat and I are Power Rangers, don't tell anyone, there's a monster that can copy our bodies, we have an evil Ranger on our tails, Adam and Kat are missing and now I have to take you to the Command Center." Tommy paused. He took a huge breath before saying, "Hold on." He then teleported himself and Ty to the Command Center.  
  
  
"Tommy we've found Zordon and we're almost done with Alpha why the heck have you got Ty with you?" Rocky asked as soon as Tommy materialized.  
"Great, and I had to 'cause she knows. Now, where did I put Kat's communicator?"  
"In your pocket," said Ty, half in shock as she stared in awe at the technology surrounding her.  
Tommy took it out of his pocket and laid it on the table. It disappeared. Not even teleported. It just fizzled out like it never had existed in the first place.  
"What the...?"  
"Rangers. You need to get down to Angel Grove, Divatox's Ranger is attacking."  
"Zordon! You're back!" Rocky grinned. "Yes! My computer skills are that damn good!"  
If Zordon had had a physical body he probably would have rolled his eyes. "Go! Angel Grove needs you!"  
Tommy reached behind him.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!"  
"DUNE STAR TURBO POWER!" cried Tanya.  
"MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER!" called Rocky.  
"RED LIGHTNING TURBO POWER!" yelled Tommy.  
In flashes of colour they teleported out.  
Zordon regarded the girl in front of him, who couldn't be more shocked. "Now, I need to fix Alpha, then run some tests on you and then we'll sort this out."  
Ty made a strangled noise in her throat.  
  
  
The evil Ranger chuckled low in his throat as he shot a beam of energy towards a group of kids. It didn't hit them, but scared them enough so that one of them started to cry.  
"Hey punk!"  
The Black Ranger turned and faced the three remaining Rangers. "Finally some fun!" He cocked his head. "Just to make it more even, here's your little friend." The Pink Ranger materialized in a cloud of pink sparkles. As the group ran up to her, Kat held her head. 

"Are you okay, Kat?" Tommy questioned. Kat nodded before pointing at the evil Ranger, then at Tommy's communicator.  
"I don't follow."  
"I forgot to mention, she can't talk…she saw too much. The next time she'll talk will be when she's in mortal peril," the Ranger chuckled.   
Tommy nearly vibrated with anger, before lashing out with a kick.  
As Tommy and Tanya distracted the Ranger, Rocky took careful aim with his blaster. Just as he was squeezing the trigger, the Ranger quite purposefully moved and the shot flew harmlessly over his head. With a quick flip Rocky was facing the black visor, and an instant later was facing the blue sky. 

Rocky spent an extra few seconds on the ground, wondering about the one thing that niggled at him…the Ranger had moved as if he knew what they were about to do. But the good Ranger team hadn't put that move into practice yet – 'Team Omega' had only been practiced at the Command Centre. Rocky shook his head to get rid of both the thoughts and the little birdies that seemed to be flying around his head, before jumping up and returning to the fight.

Kat watched helplessly, because as she couldn't speak, she couldn't morph. She bit her lip as she saw Tommy go down again.

Suddenly a laser blast hit the Ranger. He stumbled backwards a few steps.  
A purple figure flipped over their heads and landed near Tanya with catlike grace. "Hi guys. Need a hand?"  
"Who are you?" demanded Tommy.  
"It's me...Ty. These powers are only temporary, so we need to get this over and done with."  
"Cool," Tanya said, looking her up and down.

"You look good in purple," Tommy told her. Ty struck an over-the-top pose before returning to business.  
"What would Adam say to you complimenting her?" asked Rocky half- seriously.  
That reminded Tanya of who was missing. "Where's Adam?" she demanded of the Ranger.  
He laughed. "Your friend is dead."  
"Who killed him?"  
"That would be me."  
"You're going to pay!"  
All the Rangers got up and charged at the evil Ranger, including Kat who ran last. The evil Ranger slashed them all easily with a sword he pulled from a sheath on his waist. He dropped Kat on the ground and stood with one foot on her chest. "This was too easy." He raised his blade high above his head. "Any last words?"  
"It's Adam!" The words burst from Kat's mouth.  
The black ranger hesitated. With a quick chop to the Ranger's knee Kat freed herself and retreated to the rest of the Rangers. "SHIFT INTO TURBO! WIND CHASER TURBO POWER!"  
"Adam? Is that you?" Tommy asked softly, looking intently at the Black Ranger.  
"Adam is dead."  
Kat shook her head hard. "No he's not."  
"Yes he is! I'll prove it!" The Ranger rushed them swinging his sword madly. He hit them all, with sparks flying off of them. He stopped suddenly and cocked his head. "I would really love to destroy you now, but my mistress is calling. Catch ya on the flipside!" Black light punctuated his sentence as he teleported out.  
"Now we have to fight against our own?" Tanya whispered.  
  
  
"A brilliant plan if I do say so myself," Divatox said as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Beauty and brains? Huh! I wish I could kiss myself. "  
"My Queen, I think that the potion may be weakening," Porto timidly interrupted. He motioned to Adam, studying the panels with an expression that perfectly described the phrase, 'The lights are on but no one's home.'  
"No! He must be under my control until we destroy the Rangers and Earth is mine!" Divatox ranted. A grin stole across her face. "And until he is suitably evil enough to become my fiancée."  
Adam walked over to Divatox and bowed. "May I destroy the Rangers now, mistress?" At the sound of his slightly huskier voice, Divatox shivered, whether in fear or something definitely more primal, no one around could be certain. She simply nodded. He met her eyes briefly. She could almost see her own face in the red and orange flames that danced in his formerly black irises.  
  
  
"Guys, Adam's back at the park," Kat called out. She glanced nervously at the screen. "He's...demorphed?"  
"Figures," Rocky muttered. "He was always saying back in Stone Canyon that he wanted to fight the morphed Rangers." When everyone looked at him, he grew defensive. "What? He did."  
  
  
Adam turned around at the slight hissing noise of the teleportation. Tommy, Tanya, Ty, Kat and Rocky all shivered as they saw the flames in his eyes. He said nothing, just smiled coldly.  
"Adam, man, don't do this!" Tommy called.  
Adam's smile grew.  
"Come on bud, don't do it!" Rocky yelled.  
He cocked his head. "Don't do what?" he near-whispered, his now-husky voice making the Rangers even more wary of him.  
"Whatever you're going to do!" Rocky called.  
Adam raised his eyebrows. "So you don't want me to tell you where Divatox is."  
"Where?" Tommy demanded, stepping forward.  
Adam shook a finger at him. "Tsk, tsk, Tommy. Do you really expect me to tell you where my hideout is? I mean, I know where yours is."  
"Then why don't you attack us there?" Kat yelled. "You're a coward!"  
The thing in front of them chuckled. "Oh, I've been called a lot of names in my time, but that has got to be one that has no place describing me. Remember, I was a Power Ranger."  
"If you're a Power Ranger, then you're on the side of good! All Power Rangers work for the side of good!" Tanya shouted.  
Adam raised a hand, and magically it filled with fire. The bright blue flames were in a large teardrop shape, floating less than two inches above the palm of his hand. The Rangers stared at the fire, captivated. He smiled slowly, and after a brief pause he strode forward, the flame suddenly disappearing. The Rangers, suddenly released mentally from the staring contest with the flames, struggled to move, but found none of their body parts would respond.  
His husky voice lowered. "I _was_ a Power Ranger." He walked around each of them, sizing them up. Rocky was first, the flame-drenched orbs of his best friend flicking up and down before moving on. Tanya was the next victim, the red colour flickering over her face and going onto Kat before even looking her up and down. The glance up and down Kat was slow, studying, but in the end he moved on. Flickering colour met Tommy's helmet. The lithe young man smiled and pretend-saluted before he stepped away. Ty met his eyes defiantly. "Dalao," he hissed softly, turning so the softly exhaled breath skimmed over between where her helmet and where her shirt ended, if she hadn't been wearing the helmet.  
The young man flicked his wrist, and a shiny, slightly gray bubble appeared over the top of them, spreading to cover the Rangers, some of the closer trees and the nearby pathway, which disappeared under the barrier. Adam clicked his fingers, and unwillingly all the Rangers took off their helmets. "Definitely my choice," he purred into Ty's ear. "You could have the world, anything you want." His voice sharpened, his next words directed at Tommy. "You would be my second hand, but I know you would never move to evil again. But, then again," Adam shrugged. "Maybe I could find a certain Green Power coin?" The look Tommy gave him would have intimidated the living daylights out of anyone, but Adam simply smiled, amused. "The famous 'look of death'. No one in six galaxies could match the look given by the famed Tommy Oliver." 

The former Green and Black Ranger walked up to the leader of the Power Rangers and stood in front of him. Tommy, for the first time in a long time, felt real fear, even though the man before him was a good fifteen kilograms lighter, had less muscle, and was nearly an inch shorter. "Don't underestimate your opponents, bird-boy," he hissed. Adam suddenly grinned, making him look even more evilly manic. "Especially don't underestimate me." He clicked his fingers, and the Rangers found themselves placing their helmets back on. "I don't need to let out your identities to win." 

Adam pointed his thumb and first finger like a gun and shot at Ty. "I'll be back for you," he promised. His evil smile became more evil, if possible, and he said as if he had forgotten. "Oh yeah. Welcome to the Power Rangers." He waved and teleported out.  
  
  
Ty was sitting on the floor of the Command Centre, demorphed, staring into space. Kat had immediately sat and started reviewing fighting patterns, hoping for a weak spot, any weak spot, in their former friend's defenses. Tanya and Rocky were watching her. Tanya poked Rocky in the side. "Do you think she needs someone to talk to?" she whispered. "I did."  
Rocky remembered it easily. They had just come back from fighting one of the first monsters Tanya had seen, and she had been the first to teleport away. He didn't see the next part, but he knew Adam had found her and had talked to her, giving her a shoulder to unload her worries and fears. He could remember, back near when he joined, a monster based on him, and Kimberly had spoken and listened to him, giving him a chance to talk. Adam hadn't really talked to anyone, just after the whole Sabrina/Mirror things he had taken a day off and mused about the whole Ranger thing. He had briefly confided in Billy, whom Rocky knew had probably been one of the easier people on the team for him to talk to.  
Rocky nodded. "I'll do it." He nodded at Tommy, who was glancing occasionally at statistics during the fight, but was mostly looking into space. "You take Tom, I'll take Ty."  
  
  
"How are you holding up?" a voice asked quietly. Ty recognized the voice as Rocky, and although she hadn't spoken to him much, she knew he was a pretty decent guy. He had to be, to be a Power Ranger…right?  
"Pretty good, considering a homicidal maniac just threatened my life," she said lightly. "How are you?"  
"Not quite so good," Rocky said, sitting on the ground and stretching his legs out in front. "My quote, best friend, end quote, turned out to be a monster, my real best friend turns out to be a evil Ranger, I don't know if we'll ever get him back, I don't know if we'll have to…" Rocky stopped for a second. "Destroy him, and I don't think he's ever going to be the same again. Other than that, I'm doing fine!" he said sarcastically.  
"He was _your_ best friend?" Ty asked softly. "I got the feeling Tommy was."  
Rocky shook his head. "Tommy and Adam are equals in a lot of ways, but Tommy isn't one of those guys you can totally open up to. He's a good guy, but sometimes you need more than similarities to get through."  
Ty looked up at him. "No offense, but it doesn't really seem like you and Adam have much in common."  
"We have a bit, you just have to know both of us really well." Rocky stared at his hands. "Actually, we compliment each other more than we have in common. I've got a weird sense of humor, but Adam's more of the dry humor type. He's shy, won't usually talk to anyone he doesn't know, but I'll go up to anyone on the street and start a conversation." Rocky shrugged. "He's my conscience." He let out a dry laugh and shook his head. "Except for once in grade eight. It took me three weeks to get my revenge after he turned my hair purple."  
Ty laughed in spite of herself. "I will not even ask."  
Rocky turned serious. "Ty, there is always a chance to back out. No more battles, no more death threats…"  
"No more evil Rangers after my butt?" Ty finished. She sighed. "I would really like quitting, but after you start…"  
"You get addicted to the adrenaline rush. And you can't turn your back on being one of the Earth's only defenses," Rocky summed up. Ty smiled weakly. Rocky put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. "If you ever need to talk, just let me know," he said softly.  
Ty nodded. "I will."  
  
  
"Divatox!" Dark Spectre roared. The lava-monster appeared on the view screen on Divatox's base.  
Divatox sashayed up to the screen. "Yes, my greatness?"  
"Your pet is working excellently," Dark Spectre growled. "But he can no longer fight the earth-bound Rangers."  
The evil pirate lost her composure. "What? That was my whole plan! Get a Ranger, destroy the rest, get a man...and plastic surgery!" she wailed.  
"Divatox!" the monarch of evil bellowed. "That Ranger may serve you in whatever way you wish, but he must not, cannot, and will not have any contact with the earth-bound Rangers!" he commanded. Those being his last words, he disappeared from the viewing screen. Divatox wailed some more, generally being like a three-year-old kiddie throwing a tantrum.  
  
  
"Rocko, Ty, there's something you should see,' Kat said. They rushed over, standing behind Tanya and Tommy as they watched the monitor. There was a diagram of Adam, with his body lightly coloured green, and a picture of a coloured Ty, her purple hue not even disguising the light colour of her skin.  
"The Green Turbo powers are almost completely destroyed," Kat said without preamble. "The Black Turbo power has taken all possible footholds in Adam, pushing out the Green." She paused as they silently remembered their teammate. The diagram of Adam was draining the green and replacing it with a gray-black. "As we all know, Ty's Purple Turbo powers can't be permanent. There simply isn't enough information nor power to supply both Green and Purple. We can't destroy the Green or let it be destroyed, because that power is tied into our own. If we lose Green, we lose the rest. Fortunately, with four Turbo powers right here, we can call back the Green powers and let them replenish inside a chosen Ranger." 

She glanced over at her fellow Rangers. Ty, Tommy and Tanya were all still blank-faced, but on Rocky, she could see that the possibility had dawned. "So, we transfer the Green Turbo powers to Ty! Kat, you're a genius!" Rocky exclaimed.  
Kat rolled her eyes. "Stop with the Jolt, Rocky. It's permanently done something to your brain."  
  
  
Ty watched as the stars up above were covered by clouds. Not even an hour ago, she had become the first female Green Ranger to walk the planet Earth. One of the first to receive powers that had been residing in an enemy. A tear dripped off her face and onto her knee, as she silently reminisced about the soft-spoken teenager she had met in Angel Grove Park, now possibly one of the deadliest enemies the Power Rangers would ever face.  
After all, how could Power Rangers fight against their own?


	2. A Familiar Face

Title: A Familiar Face

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: With Adam attacking on the side of Astronema, Andros starting to open up and a strange message, it's no wonder that one paragraph in someone faints from confusion.

Note: See first chapter for assorted other things.

* Pronounced as sale-ISTH ay FAY- er, mish-SHALL- ee ay tor-A, dash-AL mi-ANE

"Then, what do you think? I blew those Rangers sky-high!" Divatox gloated. She stumbled forward as she was bumped into from behind. Steady hands grasped her waist as she almost fell, and she smirked at her catcher before turning.  
"Divatox," Rita whined in her nasal voice.  
Divatox employed a fake smile. "How nice to see you!…Frita," she ended flatly.  
Rita stomped her foot. "That's Rita!"  
"Oh, sorry, Frita." Before Rita could object, she pulled her catcher forward, a black robe disguising everything but a pair of equally black eyes. "I believe you haven't met my favourite servant?"  
Rita sneered. "Why should I?"  
Divatox smiled angelically. "I believe you know him." The figure pulled off the head of the robe, and Rita gasped.  
"How? Wh…" There was a thud as she fainted dead away.  
The figure looked down with a fair amount of disdain. "I think that went well."  
  
  
Another robed figure sat at the end of the table. Divatox's main fighter looked up as he felt a stare, and curiously looked towards the stranger. He could say nothing, as Dark Spectre appeared in front of them. He remained standing, as Divatox had ordered him to stay there, demonstrating her ownership.  
The servant paid little mind to Dark Spectre's speech – if it was something important his mistress could tell him. As the ancient being finished, his once-enemy Lord Zedd proposed a toast. The henchman of Divatox noticed the other robed figure did not drink, so he quietly stepped down to behind the stranger's chair, his hood falling down his back.  
"Hey you! What, you too good to drink with us?" Divatox's voice bleated. 

The stranger slowly got up, but unfortunately for the powers of good, Divatox's fighter was too quick, and grabbed him by both arms. 

The newly announced Princess of Evil, Astronema, came over and unmasked the good stranger. The helmet that stared back at her shocked her, and he took advantage of that by slamming an elbow into his holder's stomach. The man oof-ed, but kept his grip. The Ranger twisted violently, calling out, "Galaxy Glider!" as he struggled. Finally the Ranger got out of the painful hold, and jumped onto a surfboard-like glider before flying away.  
"Astronema!" Dark Spectre bellowed. "You shall follow the spy and destroy him!" He noticed the captor of the Ranger, bfore recognising him. "Divatox! You will give Astronema the former Power Ranger, and will guard Zordon until further notice."  
The man threw a cold glare at Zordon, who was staring, aghast, at the man one of his 'sons' had become. 

Gone was the shoulder length curly black hair, now it was cut short, bringing back memories of the first time he had come into the Command Centre, and now was three colours: dark blond, on his left, purple on his right, and the middle stripe was kept a midnight black. 

Gone was the green shirts and clothing, swapped for black leather, and what Zordon identified as being _hala-vasham_, an extremely rare substance from the planet Eltar, a mix of silk and a native plant to Eltar similar to leather. 

Gone was any unneeded flab, replaced with smooth, rippling muscles. Even worse for Zordon to see was the black as midnight eyes. All the warmth, and love, and compassion, and happiness, and all things that made a Ranger a Ranger were replaced with a cold indifference and hot flames, and as Zordon watched the man, he smirked in an expression disturbingly reminiscent of Tommy as the Green Ranger.  
Astronema grabbed the Ranger, and they teleported out.  
  
  
Astronema brought up the display on both current and former Rangers, and looked around at what was now her property. "You will identify all Rangers, along with their fighting techniques, and learn from their mistakes, as well as the ones you made. You will be sent to Earth in a matter of days, and I expect you to use all their mistakes and statistics against them." She left without bothering to wait for a reply.  
The former Ranger sneered at her back, an expression that had never graced his face before entering Divatox's service, and watched as statistics and numbers on the current Rangers scrolled down the screen at nearly undistinguishable speed. Suddenly he stopped the display, and said five words out loud.  
"Rocky DeSantos and Typhus Merina."  
The picture whirred, and then the two pictures of the former Rangers came up. He smirked coldly as he read their marital statuses: engaged.  
  
  
For a brief second Rocky felt a cold chill run through him and he shivered, glancing around. His fiancée looked up at him and asked worriedly, "You okay, love?"  
"Fine, Ty," he told her. He hugged her closer to him and they continued walking. Rocky looked up at the sky again, wondering over the sudden cold.  
  
  
Andros stretched briefly before Carlos made his way onto the bridge. "You okay man?" the teenager asked his current leader.  
A smile graced the lips of the Red Ranger. A true one, not one put on for show or to lie. "I'm fine, Carlos. It's just...strange to have all these people on the Megaship. It was only me for so long…"  
Carlos nodded in understanding. "If you need to get away from it all-" he stopped, and cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, if you want to, I know a spot down on Earth that no one else can really find."  
Andros took in his third-in-command. "Just might take you up on that someday."  
  
  
"You like?" Carlos asked as Andros surveyed the tree-surrounded area in Angel Grove Park.  
"Oh yeah. Where did you find this place?"  
Carlos sat at the base of a tree, and Andros followed his lead. "You know how when you met us we were former Rangers? Well, we all held the Turbo powers. My predecessor was named Ty, and she told me all about this spot. Apparently she and a friend of hers met here before she became a Ranger."  
"Who were the Rangers before you?" Andros asked.  
Carlos leaned back into the trunk of a tree. "Well, there was Tommy Oliver. He was the Red Lightning Turbo Ranger, and he gave his powers to TJ. Katherine Hillard was the Wind Chaser Turbo Ranger, pink, and hers went to Cassie. Ashley got the yellow Dune Star powers from Tanya Sloan. Justin Stewart was the blue Mountain Blaster Turbo Ranger, and he got the powers from someone named Rocky DeSantos. And a girl called Typhus Merina gave me the Desert Thunder Turbo powers, green."  
Andros frowned. "Green. Huh. Female Rangers are never green," he objected, perplexed.  
"There was a story behind it, something about the Green powers fading away, and the powers recharging in her," Carlos explained.  
Andros shifted, glancing around. "This spot reminds me of places on KO-35…"  
"Really, where?"

Carlos grinned as the conversation turned to their respective childhoods.  
Unfortunately the last Ranger to sit in Carlos' place was now evil. Unbeknownst to the two, he was also watching them.  
  
  
TJ rolled his eyes. "DECA, that's just childish," he reprimanded. He poked curiously at the substance that had come from the Synthetron – it was light blue in colour, resembled sheep droppings in water and smelt awful.

"Disturbance in Angel Grove," DECA announced, drawing all of the Rangers' attention.  
"You aren't getting out of this," the Blue Ranger warned, pointing a finger threateningly at the blinking red light of a camera. The computer didn't reply verbally; instead TJ yelped as a shot of static electricity hit him in the posterior. He turned and regarded the navigation console suspiciously.  
Andros rolled his eyes, but exchanged a mirth-filled look with Carlos. "You and DECA can continue your little lover's spat later, we've got a job to do. Let's rocket!" Andros commanded.  
  
  
Astronema turned as the Rangers shimmered into existence.  
"Finally down here to do your own dirty work, Astronema?" Ashley called.  
Astronema allowed a smirk onto her surprisingly innocent face-when you looked under the makeup. "Actually, Yellow Ranger, I just wanted to introduce you to a new friend of mine. Actually, you could thank your Red Ranger for introducing us. He never would have come with me if the Red Ranger hadn't botched up that spying he did." She snapped her fingers and in a splash of green-black a figure materialized by her side.  
He was dressed almost fully in black, the only other colour being a silver charm on silver neck chain, and he probably wouldn't have looked out of place in a biker gang. The clothes he wore practically reeked of danger, but there was no possible way his clothes could hinder movement. The blond, purple and black hair suddenly reminded Andros of something, but he shoved it to the back of his mind for a less dangerous time. The sleeveless shirt he wore showed off the smooth, rounded muscles that came purely from hard work, not the muscles that came from a gym. 

Astronema flipped her straight black hair and said with a hint of pride, "This is Adam. How ironic. One of the first people on Earth was Adam, and he gave you life. One of the last people on Earth will be Adam, and he will give you death." In a slightly concerned voice, she said to the newly revealed fighter, "I know you hate the Black Ranger, but do make sure he dies painfully, not just quickly."  
Adam looked straight at the Rangers for the first time, and they all shuddered as they saw their own uniforms reflected in red and yellow flames in his eyes. "Believe me, Astronema, pain is one thing I am _very_ good at."  
She smirked and as way of a goodbye, said, "Have fun! And don't forget to scream." She disappeared in her usual teleportation.  
That left the Rangers alone with an insane maniac.  
  
  
Adam hadn't been lying when he said he was good at pain, Ashley thought. And he was good enough at what he did to stop when the Rangers were about to fall unconscious. Currently, everyone except Andros and Carlos were down, and that was because Carlos had a huge threshold of pain, and for some reason Adam was going easy on the Red Ranger.  
"He's like a tank," Andros groaned to Carlos.  
"Really? I hadn't noticed," the accented voice told him sarcastically.  
Suddenly Adam stopped, standing totally still. He began muttering to himself, nonsense words to Carlos, but annoyingly familiar to the Red Ranger. Andros tensed. The blow he had been expecting came, and he turned it with difficulty, even though he had anticipated the move. Three lightning-quick jabs to the Red Ranger's throat had Andros down, gasping for breath. Adam leaned down and picked up the pain-filled teen, and looked directly at the helmet. Andros had the strangest feeling that the evil teenager could see straight through it, and could see the fear in the hazel eyes inside.  
A surprisingly innocent, happy grin passed over the face of the young man as the red flames eased a bit. "It is you," he muttered. The moment was broken by someone kicking Adam in the back. Andros was dropped, and was forced to watch as Carlos was slammed into the concrete path behind him. Adam was walking towards the Black Ranger when he suddenly turned again to face the majority of the Rangers. "Saelisth ey faer, mishali ey tora, dashal mian,*" he quipped, bowing toward Andros. He disappeared in his customary black-green light.  
  
  
Andros sank into his bed on the Megaship, still pondering over Adam. "Saelisth ey faer, mishali ey tora, dashal mian," he muttered softly.  
Hazel eyes widened in sudden recognition. "Good to evil, green to black, _dashal_ of mine."  
He fell back on his bed, cursing in the native Keroviain tongue. If Zhane had been there…he moved his mind from the painful area, but one thought stayed in his mind. _If Zhane knew..._  
"Adam," he whispered. "Adairach."  
  



	3. Green To Black

Title: Green To Black

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, Saban and some guys whose names I can't spell do. I do own Ty, and anything you don't recognise from Power Rangers canon.

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: The seeds have been planted. Will two Rangers concede defeat against one they can't fight against?

Notes: Yes, chapter summary is correct. And just in case you somehow got here without reading the first chapter…this is the very beginning of a slash pair. To be precise, I plan two slash pairings…

Andros marched to the bridge. "DECA," he commanded, ignoring the surprised glances of the four other Rangers several feet away. "Bring up the Kerovian words for 'evil to good, green to black, _dashal_ of mine'."  
"Immediately. Displaying translation." Andros waited impatiently for the small screen to come up with the writing he wanted and dreaded at the same time. The words came up. "Saelisth ey faer, mishali ey tora, dashal mian."

Andros swore violently, smashing down on the console with one fist. Ashley jumped. DECA buzzed at the language. Carlos exchanged a glance with TJ. Cassie sent a concerned look his way. All of them stepped back as he got up and walked out. All of them followed as he quickly made his way to the engine room.

"DECA," he called as he ran. "Is it possible for Zhane to be awakened now?"

DECA sounded concerned. "The longer he stays…"

"Is it possible?!" Andros yelled, skidding to a halt in front of the engine room.

"Yes, it is possible."

Hitting his hand against a control panel, Andros took a deep breath and stepped into a hidden room. The four other Rangers followed.

"Andros? What's going on?" Ashley asked.

He turned, only a little startled by the four figures standing behind him. "It's a very long story."

TJ crossed his arms. "We like long stories."

Andros sighed and started to explain. His arm rested continually on the cool blue horizontal tube behind them.

_"Andros?" a voice called. The young eight-year-old boy smiled as Adairach moved next to him. "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing, Adair," he smiled. The _dashal_ bond that had brought the two together had picked the right two. _Or four,_ Andros mentally corrected himself. As if drawn by the thought, ten-year old Zhane bounded up, a grin plastered on his face, followed by a tall girl, approximately nine years old. 

"Come on!" Zhane said, the grin increasing. "Taryan's got three new _hashak_ and they need to be tamed before going to Sayat's!"

"You sure, Taryan?" seven-year-old Adair asked the girl.

"I do!" the girl insisted, parting her curly green fringe so she could see him.

Andros, Adairach, Zhane and Taryan all turned and ran, their minds innocently filled full of pictures of the little hawk-like birds, unaware that their world was about to change very soon._

_"Andros! Zhane! Adair!" Taryan called, her mostly blond fluffy hair bouncing. She had grown, as had the rest of them, but she was the most noticeable. Despite only being thirteen, her body was fully-grown, and most of the time she hated it.

"Taryan, we need sleep," Adair groaned, pulling a pillow over his black, purple and blond head. She ripped it off him, and unceremoniously revealed the glass of water behind her back. Adair looked up sleepily, and seeing the water, broke the record for eleven-year-olds being unconscious one second to hyper-alert the next.

"Mummy, 'snot time fo' t'ainin'," Zhane mumbled trough his pillow and elbow. Taryan grinned evilly, dumping the water straight on top of the fourteen-year-old Zhane. His yelps woke up Andros quickly, quickly enough that he fell off the top bunk.

"Zhane!" the twelve-year-old groaned as he jumped on his _dashal_ bonded.

Adair grinned as he bombdived into the pileup. "Cowabunga!"

Taryan stood at the edge, primly watching the boys with a little mischief in her eyes. Andros saw the look, and told her, 

"You aren't getting out of this that easy, missy!"

She shrieked as the three started crawling up to her, hands in the universal tickle position.

Just a normal day for the three training Rangers._

"What is a _dashal_?" Carlos asked curiously after hearing that from Andros.

Andros paused, obviously trying to think of a simple way to explain it. "On Earth," he began slowly. "You have a smaller version of _dashal_, soulmates. _Dashal_ is when three, occasionally four, people understand each other perfectly. There is hardly any place for fighting, and it's like an honorary family. Usually there's no romance, but in the few occasions in history the couple never broke up. Sometimes there's telepathy involved, but I can't communicate well with Adairach and Zhane can't do it really well with Taryan. Zhane and Adairach were especially close, as were Taryan and I. My sister Karone was _dashal_ with Zhane's younger brother Jadab and Taryan's younger sister Miaki. Now, out of the lot of us, there's pretty much only Zhane and I left, if you can call it that. Taryan evacuated along with the rest of the Kerovians, and I have no idea where they went. Karone was kidnapped, only a couple of weeks after she found her _dashal_ bonded. Taryan's sister and Zhane's brother are dead, Jadab about a year after Karone of fever and Miaki died in the war."

"What happened to Adairach?" Ashley asked.

"He moved to Earth, about four weeks after he turned fourteen. Approximately five months before the war began."

"But if it was possible to wake up Zhane before," Cassie asked. "Why wait until now?"

"Zhane was grievously injured in the battle for KO-35, and his injuries heal faster while he's frozen. Right now, when he wakes up, he'll probably only have a splitting headache and maybe a fractured rib."

"Why now?" Cassie repeated. "I mean, if you wait, won't the little stuff be gone?"

Andros lost the faint smile he still had after relating the childhood 'incidents' to his current team. "I have to wake him up now," he muttered under his breath. He punched a few buttons. The Rangers waited. Andros waited. DECA waited. 

The right glove moved.

Zhane opened his eyes and saw a light blue-white roof. He reached out weakly with his mind. *Andros?*

Andros grinned in relief. *Hey, Zhane. Enjoy your nap?*

*Next time I think I'll pass.* Zhane reached up with one hand and touched a sloping cover. *Uh, Andros? Can you let me out? I'm not dead yet.*

"*Sorry, man,*" Andros said both aloud and in his mind. He quickly undid the three hooks that kept the tube closed. *I probably should warn you that there's four other people who are going to watch you get up for the first time in two years.*

*Should I be worried about helmet hair?* he joked. He sat up and swung his legs over the side before looking up. Under the helmet his face broke into a smile. "So, the little shrimp's grown. Bout time."

Andros laughed. "Don't forget who regularly kicked your butt."

"I won't. Adairach always beat you, so that's something to be thankful for." Zhane encased Andros in a hug.

*Uh, Zhane? There's a couple of people here who are probably very confused.*

*You finally gave the morphers away?* Zhane asked.

*Uh, yeah.*

Andros broke out of the hug and motioned to each member of the team. "Ashley, the Yellow Ranger."

"Hi."

"Cassie, the Pink Ranger."

"Nice to meet you."

 "TJ, the Blue Ranger."

"Hey."

"And this is Carlos, the Black Ranger."

Carlos merely nodded. Zhane frowned slightly as a spark of…something…appeared in the Hispanic's eyes. Jealousy?

 "Everyone, this is Zhane, Silver Ranger."

Zhane clicked his Digimorpher and in a flash of silver-white light he stood in his version of the Megaship uniform. "Nice to meet you all."

"So are you from KO-35?" Ashley asked, crossing her arms.

Zhane smiled. "Yeah, Kerovian born and bred." He suddenly shot a glance at Andros, having picked up a flash of pain. 

*What's the matter?*

Andros sighed, wiping and hand down his face. "Try to sense Adairach," he said softly.

Zhane hesitated. "You know I can't," he said after his pause. "He moved to Earth, remember?"

"Just try it," Andros said softly.

Zhane closed his eyes. For a minute it seemed as though there was a black and purple tinge to the top of his head, but it vanished the second he opened his eyes. Zhane slowly told his leader and his new teammates what he had found out. "He's close, but I can't pinpoint h-ahhhh!" Zhane exclaimed, clutching his right arm in pain. His breathing was ragged as the other Rangers gathered around him, concerned. "He's being hurt," Zhane said through clenched teeth.

Andros explained to the other Rangers quickly. "A drawback of the _dashal_ bond is that we partially feel each other's pain. Only a fraction, so Adairach must be hurting pretty bad for Zhane to hurt this much. I don't really feel it, unless it leaves a physical trace."

Zhane suddenly fell forward, like someone had packed a punch to the back of his head.

Astronema watched as Adairach was pulled, kicking and screaming, to the chair in the middle of the room. His black eyes burned, free of the red flames that had danced only an hour before, before he had been sent to fight those damn Rangers. 

"Astronema!" he roared. "You will pay for this!"

She stood up smoothly. "No, my little former Ranger, I think you can pay my bill." She motioned to Ecliptor to chain him into the chair. "You need a little more…convincing…to be evil. So I guess we'll just have to top up that little piece of abra-cadabra Divatox did, hmmm?" A purple bolt of lightning flashed from her staff down to his right arm. As he clenched his teeth in pain, she signaled to the Quatrons nearby. "Oh I love the sounds of pain in the morning!"

Adam was knocked out almost straight away.

But the pain didn't stop.

Neither did the spell casting.

"Yow, that would have hurt," TJ observed as he watched Carlos and Andros patch up the Silver Ranger. After the phantom blow that knocked the blond out, a huge cut down his left arm appeared, ripping his uniform, followed by a long scratch across his forehead. At the scratches, Andros winced and briefly held the places on his own body, experiencing diluted measures of pain.

"It did," Zhane answered, still groggy from the knockout hit. "What happened?"

"If what Andros says is correct, then Adairach, wherever he is, was probably knocked unconscious thanks to the little concussion-giver you got," Cassie diagnosed. "He was probably still unconscious when he got the cuts."

"Good," Zhane said. "Less pain little frog has to go through the better."

"Frog?" Ashley asked.

Zhane gave her a crooked smile. "His name. Means noble frog." He suddenly closed his eyes, his breathing rhymic. 

"He's tracing the pain," Andros whispered.

Zhane suddenly cursed in Kerovian, and Andros shook him out of his trance-like state. "What is it?" he asked roughly.

Zhane turned on him, eyes spitting cold fire. Suddenly he looked different, like a mask had replaced his handsome features, turning his eyes a burning red. "Andy," he greeted, his voice missing the light, carefree undertones and changing to a different sound. "Little problem with the _dashal_ bond. See, I'm evil, so the 'goodie-good' Rangers can't fight one of their best friends. The problem here is that I'll keep on attacking Earth, and you can't do a thing to stop it." Zhane's smile was cold, calculating. "Fare thee well, Andy." Zhane's eyes closed, then opened seconds later, revealing Zhane's normal bright blue. The blond shook his head rapidly for a second before asking. "What was that about?"

Cassie, Carlos, TJ and Ashley all looked at Andros, who had a sad look of acceptance on his features. "Zhane, remember how in the last days of the fight, Dark Spectre unleashed two evil fighters, human, fighters from KO-35, so we couldn't fight against them?"

Zhane nodded his head. "Yeah, Taryan refused to fight Miaki, so she ended up going with the evacuees. What's this got to do with Adairach?"

"His name is Adam now," Andros said softly. Cassie and the others gasped. "He's fought against all of us morphed, and he's kicked our butts."

Zhane looked like someone had hit him over the head. "Evil?" he croaked.

"Under Astronema's control."

They both got a telepathic message.

*And don't you forget it.*

"_Kao_!" Zhane cursed. "How did you find out about this?" 

"He told me. _Saelisth ey faer, mishali ey tora, dashal mian,_" Andros told Zhane. 

"Okay, good to evil, I can understand. _Dashal_ of mine I can understand. But green to black?" 

Andros shrugged, running a hand through his striped hair. "No idea." 

Carlos snapped his fingers. "Adam? Do you know what his last name was when he came to Earth?" 

Both Rangers looked puzzled. "No," Andros said slowly. "Did you know someone by the name of Adam?" 

"Vaguely. But…" Carlos trailed off. "He looked a little different. I had an Adam as a soccer coach," he explained. "Then a while before the powers were passed on to us, he just…disappeared. I heard his family didn't care, but for a while the friends he used to hang around with were really depressed and sad and stuff. I've got a picture in my room if that helps," he offered. 

Andros smiled at him gratefully. "You have no idea." 

Carlos dug through the pile of junk in his room. Ashley looked around with a scared look on her face. "What's the matter?" Cassie asked. 

"Last time I was in Carlos's bedroom there was a family of cockroaches underneath his dirty clothes. That's just plain disgusting." 

TJ raised an eyebrow. "You have a family of pet cockroaches 'Los?" 

Carlos flipped him a very rude sign with one finger. 

"You found it yet?" Andros asked. 

Carlos picked up a small photo lying by his bed. "Here we are." He gave it to Andros, while Zhane leant over to see it. 

Carlos was on the left, an arm around his shoulder. His hair was shorter, and he was dressed in a blue shirt with white/cream slacks. The arm belonged to a young man who was smiling at the camera, wearing a black shirt over khaki pants. Curly black hair framed his Korean face, and black eyes stared out of the photo, seemingly into Andros's soul. He took a deep, shuddering breath. 

"That's him alright," Zhane said with a good amount of sadness. "How did he get like that? Go evil?" 

"Astronema wasn't the first one to have control over him. Originally he was Divatox's," Andros thought out loud. 

"Divatox? That hussy?" Cassie asked. 

TJ shrugged. "I certainly can't remember Adam ever being evil. The former rangers fought Divatox for a lot longer than we did though, one of the former Rangers might know what happened. We could get them up here to try to identify him, maybe find how he got this way." 

"Disturbance in Angel Grove," DECA interrupted. 

"We'll have time afterwards," Andros said reassuringly. "Right now, let's rocket!" 

"Well, well, well," Adam said as they materialized. "You've got a new friend I see." He bowed sarcastically. "I am honored to be in your presence." 

"Come on Adairach!" Zhane called, ignoring the bait. "You aren't evil!" 

Adam cocked his head. "Adairach is dead." 

"He's inside of you!" Andros yelled, circling around him. 

"We don't want to hurt you!" Cassie shouted. 

His smile widened. "How about if I want to hurt you?" 

"Then bring it on," Carlos said quietly, quietly enough that he thought only his teammates would hear it. 

Adam's smile disappeared. "Oh, I'll bring it, Black Ranger." 

Even with six morphed Rangers against one unarmed non-Ranger, Adam was utterly kicking their butts. Actually, destroying their butts would be more like it. He was a flurry of punches and kicks as he made his way through the ranks, taking down the Rangers easily. Before long, all the Rangers were groaning painfully on the ground. Adam's smile returned. Curiously enough, he looked exactly like a little boy playing with his favourite toys. 

"Okay, eenie-meenie-miny-moe," he started, pointing at each of the Rangers in turn. "Catch a tiger by the toe. If he squeals, let him go, eenie-meenie-miny-moe." He stopped at Andros. "Well, old chap, seems as though we'd be destined to do this." 

He hoisted Andros up, so Andros's arm was around one of his stronger shoulders and his arm around his waist supporting his entire weight. "Misha," he nodded, before teleporting away. 

"Farewell," Zhane mumbled before slipping into unconsciousness. 


	4. Old Friends

Title: Old Friends

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, Saban and some guys whose names I can't spell do. I do own Ty, and anything you don't recognise from Power Rangers canon.

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: The seeds have been planted. Will two Rangers concede defeat against one they can't fight against?

Note: Just a quick recap on Kerovian words used so far…

_Dashal_ or _dashal_ bonded is a Kerovian version of soulmates, with three or four people bonded until death. Andros, Zhane, Adairach and a girl named Taryan are _dashal_ bonded. A drawback is the fact that you feel some remnant of the other bonded's pain. In Zhane case, he feels Adairach's pain, Andros only feels if it leaves a physical trace. Usually the _dashal_ are telepathic with one or two of the others. 

Kao = Kerovian word for sh*t. Normal swearword. 

Miel = Kerovian word for f*ck. Normal swearword. 

Saelisth ey faer, mishali ey tora, _dashal_ mian = Adairach's message for Andros. Translation=Good to evil, green to black, _dashal_ mian. 

Misha = farewell

  
  


"Nice to see you again, Red Ranger," Astronema greeted him, walking in front of the recently conscious Ranger. Since Andros was chained to the wall by handcuffs around his ankles and wrists, he stayed in the same position while Astronema was talking. Adam had disappeared seconds after they appeared on the Dark Fortress, which had been almost an hour ago. 

"Wish I could say the same," Andros replied, gazing around desperately, looking for a way out. 

Astronema smirked. "You can just stay there until you grow some manners, Red Ranger." She turned gracefully and walked out the door. At the threshold of the room, she stopped and said without turning, "Enjoy yourself. You're going to be in here for a long time." He watched her now red/orange hair bounce out of the room. 

Andros pulled at the handcuffs, trying to see if there was a crack of some kind in the metal. 

"Don't bother," a tired voice said from somewhere beside and below him. 

Andros would have whirled around if he could, but since the cuffs allowed little to no movement, the only thing he could do was turn his head. "Who's there? Who are you?" he questioned warily. 

"Myself," the person answered. The voice was annoyingly familiar, but Andros's mind was fogged up by his period of unconsciousness. "Can you lean away from me for a second?" the voice asked unexpectedly. 

Andros did so, closing his eyes as he did. Whatever this guy was planning was almost guaranteed to hurt, and he was preparing himself for some kind of burning pain. Whatever he was expecting didn't happen though, so he cautiously opened one eye. 

What he saw was astounding. Actually, the fact that he saw _at all_ was astounding, due to the fact that no light whatsoever got into those dungeons. 

He saw the walls. He saw an assortment of other chains, most holding bodies in various degrees of rotting. Andros turned his eyes away from that quickly. He looked over to his left, where the voice had come from, and saw a body, hanging upside down, black hair almost brushing the floor. The arms of the person were tied over his chest, but the rope had enough give so that the person could bring his hands partially apart. There was a ball of flame suspended just below Andros's chest, which gave off enough light to see, but not enough to see the other captive's face. There was another ball just above the other captive's feet, but that did nothing for Andros to identify him, since he had no shoes on. All Andros could see as far as the light illuminated was black, presumably black pants. 

"How the heck did you do that?" Andros asked. 

The person laughed, turning his head away, as if getting lost again in his own personal hell. "I'm part mage. The Powers That Be seem to enjoy giving me things I hate while at the same time can hardly live without." 

They both sat…actually, more like Andros leaned suspended against the wall while the other prisoner dangled lifelessly…in silence. 

"What's your story?" Andros asked after quite a interval of quiet. 

The man snorted, not even twitching after the interruption of the silence. Fairly long dark curls swayed as he replied. "My story? I'm won't tell you my story. I'll tell you the story of a friend of mine, but get comfortable, panther. It's a long one." 

"He was your normal, average kid. A mum, a dad, three friends. Actually, the weirdest thing about him was that one of his friends was a girl. He was picked on a bit, but not much. When he was fourteen his mum and dad suddenly say, 'Hey, pack your bags, we're moving, don't want to hear any complaints'. Then he got two more friends. Again, the weirdest thing about that was one of them was a girl. They were really close like his friends before, better than his family, actually. Then he did something to make a lot of people want to kill him. He became a Power Ranger." The man must have heard Andros's intake of breath, because he stopped and laughed. "Yeah. He couldn't believe it either. Him, the Black Power Ranger? The person before him was a little nuts, in his opinion. Anyway, all went well for a while. He went through a couple of different powers, always coming out with green or black. Until about a month into his second Green power, his fourth overall. The person he was fighting against came up with a spell to make him do her will. Needless to say, the spell succeeded, turning him against his friends. Then he couldn't do any more fighting against his friends in particular, since it was possible that he could break the spell. For a while he was out of fighting, until there was word that he was needed to fight a different group of Rangers. He was ordered to kill them all, but something stopped him. One of them was one of his oldest friends in the world. Small universe, huh?" He stopped for a moment, regaining a breath. "Then, lo and behold, another old friend showed up. He was sent to bring one of them here, and suddenly I break out of the spell again. Abracadabra, I'm tortured, and placed in the same place as the person I've captured. You can tell me the rest of the story." 

Andros's mind whirled, coming up with an answer that sounded astonishing to his own ears. 

So he asked. "Are you Adairach?" 

The man laughed again, swinging the chain that held him above the ground. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. But yes, panther, my name was Adairach a good four years ago. Most recently, though, my name has been Adam Park, second modern Earth Black Ranger, first and only Black Frog Ninjetti, first and only Green Zeo Ranger, first out of three Green Desert Thunder Turbo Rangers." 

"You were Carlos's soccer coach," Andros said softly. 

From what Andros could see, the man nodded. "Carlos was my ideal choice for a replacement, but unfortunately Divatox got in the way of that. Ty was my next choice, and the obvious one for all others to make." 

They sat in silence for a while more. "How is Taryan?" Adam questioned softly. 

"She evacuated. I have no idea where she is, or Karone." Andros suddenly wished he had one hand free, just so he could wipe away the single tear that had run down his cheek. 

"Andros, could you do me a favour?" 

"Name it." 

"Lean forward as much as you can," Adam said. 

Andros frowned in confusion but did so, pulling the chains taut. Adam's breathing grew deeper for a moment, before he pushed his hands as far away from his body as possible. From his hands, a small ball of white-hot flame flew forwards, stopping only in time to not hit the wall. Slowly it came backwards and sideways, heading for Andros's right hand. He turned his head as much as he could to watch it, ever so slowly melting the chains that held his hand up. After a few minutes he judged it to be brittle enough and pushed his hand forward, effectively snapping the chain. The fire then moved to his other hand, repeating the process. Soon enough he had both hands free, and he bent to try to pry the metal away from his ankles. Adam had been silent during this, but a wet cough reminded Andros of his cellmate. 

"Just hang on, Adairach," Andros said, finally freeing himself of the metal cuffs. 

Quickly he jumped over to his friend, untying the rope that held his hands together. He was suddenly aware of the two permanent fires in the room dimming, and he hurried with his work. The two hands flopped against the floor, and he quickly untied the rope that held his friends' feet up, lowering him gently to the floor. Adam softly coughed again, while Andros stared, shocked, really _looking_ for the first time at his old friend. 

Adam's face, once perfectly clear of all but one scar ("It's only small," Andros remembered Zhane protesting after his kick had connected a little too hard) above his left eye, was now crisscrossed with scars. The main and longest one reached from below his left cheek and ran upwards to disappear under his hair above his right eyebrow. He slowly checked over the rest of his friend, wincing as Adam coughed again. Andros counted one broken/cracked rib, at least one broken finger, and there was a deep and serious slash to just below his ribs. What was left of his black shirt was in tatters, still covering his front but hanging on by only a few stitches, and showing the red welts and marks on his back. The amount of bruises was uncountable, seemingly connecting to make him look as if his skin was colored a sick green/yellow/black. 

"You've got to…" Adam started, but was interrupted by a bout of coughing. "Get out of here." 

"What about you?" Andros asked, helping Adam sit up. 

Adam smiled at him the best he could, seeing that a faint line of blood was running down his face. "I'll survive. But Andros…" He blindly grabbed Andros's hand. "Andros, promise me…promise me…if you see me hurt anyone innocent…" His words were interrupted by him choking slightly. "Innocent…please…don't let me do anything more." 

Andros stared into bloodshot eyes, still with the irises darker than midnight. "Adairach, no. I'm going to get you out of here. Come on!" 

Zhane stared grimly at the screen, willing it to come up with something. He had just recovered from a good hour's worth of pain, so bad that Cassie had been forced to administer him a sedative. Even now, remains of pain still lingered. Ashley had even said that on her watch, blood had even started dripping from him onto the bed where he had been placed after falling under the medically induced sleep. 

"I've found the Dark Fortress," TJ announced. All the others gathered around him. "There's the smallest hole in their shields, but it isn't big enough for a person." 

Carlos experimentally tapped a few of the buttons on the console. "Teej, what's the coordinates?" he asked, quickly getting back to his own scanner. 

TJ sent Carlos a puzzled glance before replying with the mix of letters and numbers. "What're you doing?" he asked the Black Ranger curiously. Carlos sent him a grin. 

"Justin never gave you hackers' lessons." Everyone gave Ashley, who was closest to him, a mystified glance, but she just shrugged, a little confusion on her face as well. 

Andros silently crept down the hallway, wincing as he watched Adam follow him with a hand on his ribs. Fortunately, he had been trained in _faalal isht_. A detailed translation to normal Earth speech would be ninja training and pain decisions. Plain English? He could become a shadow, and partially ignore his pain. The Red Ranger signaled for Adam to duck; three Quantrons were passing. Adam snuck up to him, swallowing the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. "Uh, 'Dros? Do you have a plan, of some kind?" 

Andros shot him a look. "Hey, I got you out of there. You should have a plan." 

"I was the one who burnt through your chains." 

"I was the one who saved your butt from Taryan after that little _accident_ involving several unwanted cockroaches." 

"I was the one who kicked your butt every day!" 

"Fine. No I don't have a plan," Andros said, exasperated already. When Adairach and Zhane got together again…he shuddered at the thought. He frowned as Adairach winced, holding his injured ribs. "We need to get you something for those ribs," he thought out loud. 

"That'd be…good," Adairach said, breathing through another burst of pain. "This is going to be too much for me soon." 

Andros slung Adairach's arm around his shoulder, supporting a lot of his friend's weight. "Come on. There's got to be something around here." 

Carlos whooped, startling the others. Ashley dropped the readouts she was holding, TJ pressed the wrong button, Cassie jumped and Zhane almost fell out of his chair. "That had better be good news Los," TJ said menacingly, retyping into his part of the computer. 

"Very," Carlos said with a grin. "There's a hole big enough for all of us to get into the Dark Fortress." 

Ashley exchanged a glance with Cassie. "I want hacker's lessons from Justin!" the Yellow Ranger whiningly joked. 

"Who's Justin?" Zhane asked. 

Quantrons bustled, going about their pre-programmed business. That was about the only good point of being under Astronema's control; knowing the exact routes of the machines, and the places where the routine glances were. Adam sat silent, watching the Quantrons, hoping Andros got back quickly. Barrels higher than his head, a good two metres or more in height, almost entirely surrounded the small space where he stayed. Even if he stood, he wouldn't be seen over the top of the red barrels. His breathing was shallow and ragged, and he knew he was on the verge of passing out. He coughed again, bringing up more blood. _Great,_ he thought. _Bye bye lung, been nice having you whole._ His eyes closed, but before he could drift off into comforting blackness…the familiar hiss of teleporting. 

Ashley glanced around. "Tell me again why we didn't morph?" she asked quietly. 

"Because they'd sense that," Zhane said softly. "You guys wait here. I'm going to scout ahead." 

"Be careful, man," Carlos said briefly, clapping the Silver Ranger on the shoulder. Zhane nodded before running half bent over to the end of the small corridor and turning the corner. 

Cassie sighed. "So what do we do?" she asked softly. 

"We do what we always do-save the day," Carlos said with a shrug. 

TJ chuckled. "How true." 

Ashley grinned, before she stumbled over something sticking out from between two barrels. She frowned. "What's this?" she asked softly, drawing the other Rangers' attentions. 

She followed it, which looked like a leg, into a small alcove, surrounded on three sides by the large red tubs. Her right hand instinctively covered her mouth, and she slowly backed up, keeping her eyes on the person. 


	5. Old Scars

Title: Old Scars

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: Zhane and Adair remeet…not in good circumstances.

Note: This is where the slash relationship 1 comes in. So if you object, disappear.

   Adam struggled to stand, keeping one eye on the Yellow Ranger. Who really knew what Astronema could do? Cloning was definitely in her range. He used one hand to steady himself on the surrounding drums, whilst the other had a tight hold on his broken rib/s. "What do you want?" he growled, slipping easily…_Too easily_…into evil mode. 

   Ashley just stared, one hand over her mouth, as the other Rangers slipped beside her. He straightened as well as he could, wincing in pain. "I said, what do you want?" he snarled. The talking pulled the skin of his face, and he felt the longest facial cut begin to bleed again. _Just what I need. A freakin' blood tap from the face and four staring clowns._ 

   TJ didn't breathe. He couldn't. He was simply in shock. Their foe, Adam, who had nearly destroyed them several painful times, was standing in front of them, hurt and scarred. 

   Carlos was…surprised. Someone had gotten close enough to Adam to hurt him, and he'd lost. Inwardly he was worried: facing someone who could defeat their hardest enemy yet was not a good proposition. 

   Cassie was concerned, and as she saw Adam grimace in pain, her mind was made up. Even if he was her enemy, he was in no position to attack her, and since the Power Code included helping people who were helpless, helpless equaling pain… Slowly she stepped forward, holding out one hand. 

   Adam stepped backwards as the Pink Ranger cautiously took a step forward. He winced again as the movement jarred his ribs, and slowly became aware of a sticky substance going through what was left of his shirt. Painfully he brought his hand away from his body, and glanced at the sticky red liquid. It ran over his fingertips, where it hung in drips, solidifying slightly, until it oozed slowly to the floor. Adam replaced his hand quickly; the wound was starting to bleed heavily. During all this, Cassie had kept walking forward, and Adam kept backing up, until his back collided against the barrels. He groaned, leaning against them for support. Ever so slowly, Adam slid down the metal containers, not stopping until he was sitting on the ground. He glared at Cassie, who as the closest was the biggest threat. "What do you _want_?" he asked again, his cracking voice almost making it sound like a plea. 

   She crouched down, about three steps away. "I want to know who you are," she answered simply. 

   He snorted, closing his eyes, hiding the black and bloodshot eyes from her. "Get in…line," he rasped painfully. _Damn, that lung's starting to kill._ 

   She stepped forward once more, before bringing her hand to his forehead. Outside he flinched visibly, but inside he wished for that cool hand to press against his forehead again…soothing the burning pain behind his eyes. "You're burning up," she reported, concerned. "Doesn't Astronema watch over you?" 

   "Astronema? Kao, she's the one…who did this," he gasped painfully. He coughed again, and the copper blood returned with a vengeance. Suddenly his sharp ears heard something…two somethings. 

   Zhane's eyes glanced everywhere, taking in everything. Line of Quantrons in front, walking down the main 'hallway' which his corridor broke off from; a few engine noises at ten o'clock; soft footsteps…eek! 

   He dove behind a nearby crate, thankful that Astronema left a lot of stuff lying around. He peered out cautiously, and saw Andros sneaking down the hallway. Quickly he grabbed Andros, clapping a hand over his mouth. "It's me," he whispered. Andros's hazel eyes met blue, and Zhane let him go. 

   "What the miel are you doing here?" he asked in a whisper. 

   "Saving you," Zhane responded. "Come on, the others are waiting." 

   Andros skulked down the path with Zhane. "Hope you've got room for one more in your plans." 

   Zhane looked strangely at his _dashal_ bonded. "Depends on who the one more is," he said. 

   Andros grinned predatorily. "If I tell you it's one of our _dashal_ bonded, what would your reaction be?" 

   Adam's eyes widened, and he slowly and painfully stood. "Someone's coming," he got out. Cassie whirled, the only one able to hear him. 

   "There's someone coming," she hissed. "Get out!" 

   They complied, ducking out and into another nearby hole-in-the-wall. Adam softly padded to the 'front' of the space, only a step away from the walkway but still hidden from sight. He tensed, willing the pain in his ribs to subside. 

   "I'd ask if you were serious," a voice said softly as they came up to where Adam was standing. He peeked cautiously around the corner, and saw Andros standing, talking to another man, only a little shorter than Andros. He stepped slowly backwards, one hand trailing along the red paint. 

   "Andros!" he heard an accented voice call. He watched two feet run past his hiding place, and he glanced upwards to look into a pair of bright blue eyes. He looked down immediately, wincing in pain. He checked the hand that held his ribs again, and watched as the red substance dripped from his fingers. Adam drew in a shallow, shuddering breath, trying to keep the gathering darkness at bay. He shakily closed his eyes, swallowing the metal-tasting blood in his throat. 

   "Adairach," a soft voice called. He willed his eyes to look upwards, biting past the pain drumming in his ribs, behind his eyes, everywhere. "Little frog," he heard. His eyes didn't compute. Blond/silver hair, blue eyes, classic baby-boy looks, the light fire behind his eyes. Adam dropped to the floor, leaning against the cool metal of the red painted drums. The man standing in front of him immediately rushed over, quickly assessing the damage that had been done to his _dashal's_ body. "Guys! I need you over here!" he called, hoping his call was loud enough for the others to hear and soft enough for nothing else to hear. Adam coughed again, the bright colour staining his lips a deep, dark red. "Kao," the man softly swore. That was all Adam heard before descending into painful, burning darkness. 


	6. Bleed

Title: Bleed

Series: Black Past

Author: Dingo

Story Summary: Adam is drawn into a messy web of evil, deceit, and his past. But when his past comes back to fight against him, will he stay on the same side?

Chapter Summary: The ramifications of the rescue unfold, as do the most important Kerovian memories.

   "Miel," Zhane whispered, touching Adam's stomach lightly. As his hand quickly became red with blood, he went off in fluent Kerovian. 

   Andros didn't bother scolding his _dashal_ bonded as he himself darted to Zhane's side. Cassie and the others kept a sharp lookout as Zhane took off his outer jacket and wrapped it firmly around the Korean's waist. Adam flopped like a rag doll as Andros quickly assessed the damage more thoroughly than before. _Make that three broken ribs. Busted something in there. And most of his hand._

   _We need to get him out of here,_ Zhane sent quickly.

   _Duh._

   "Up we go," Zhane muttered as he easily scooped Adam up, inwardly growling at how light his friend was. He approached the rest of the Rangers quickly. "We need to get out of here."

   "Easier said than done, hombre," TJ responded. 

   He nodded to Carlos, who relayed, "That hole we got through on the way in? It's shifting. We need to go about a hundred yards…" He checked a small calculator-like machine in the palm of his hand. "-thataway," he said, pointing straight through a line of marching Quantrons. The Hispanic glanced in concern at his former soccer coach – not only was he unrecognisable as his coach, but there was nothing there to even suggest at the man who nearly killed all the Rangers single-handedly. 

   "Great," Zhane groaned. He checked on Adam, whose face was peaceful even in the throes of unconsciousness and a dozen or more facial cuts. "We need to get back, guys. Adam needs a hell of a lot of help and we can't give it to him until we get back to the Megaship."

   Cassie glanced worriedly at her friend's bundle, then back at the Quantrons. "I could distract them," she offered, scouting the machines' walking patterns. "Unmorphed I'm faster than anyone of you."

   Andros grimaced, then nodded. "Be careful and meet us on the other side as soon as you can. On the whistle," he ordered. Cassie nodded, scampering silently to the place closest to the line of enemy robots.

   "Carlos and Teej, you fend off the ones to the side. Ashley, you and I take the ones in front of us, if there are any. If not, we help the guys."

   They all nodded as they made their way up to just behind Cassie.

   Andros whistled.

   The Pink Ranger leapt out, tackling and throwing away a Quantron in one swift movement. As she was quickly bombarded with minions, she leapt again, this time rolling through the leap and running away from the parade of Rangers.

   TJ and Carlos were neatly disposing of the few Quantrons on Cassie's side, but both were soon facing the incoming Quantrons as Andros, Zhane and the bundle of bloody clothes that was Adam sprinted for the safety of a hidey-hole. "Teej!" Andros got out. "C'mon!"

   Ashley got out a piercing whistle, loud enough for Cassie to hear. The woman abruptly stopped on a dime and dashed back, most of the robotic beings following her crashing into one another as they tried to change direction. She easily vaulted onto a staircase-like bunch of storage boxes, and kept going until she dropped to the floor a few metres away from Andros and Zhane.

   Carlos quickly pulled the machine out of his pocket, leaving only one hand free to block the attacks. He started running, even unmorphed still faster than the Quantrons. "You're there!" he called. "Stay there!"

   "DECA, six to teleport," TJ said calmly, his eyes betraying his worry and concern for the three next to him…Andros, Zhane and Adam.

   They all disappeared in six columns of colour…black, pink, yellow, blue, red, and silver with flecks of green.

  
_ "Wake up, sleepy-head, sun's up, out of bed," Taryan sang motherly, drawing the curtains across the let in the sunlight.

   Adair considered her with dark, curious eyes. Zhane was still asleep, and Andros just growled and rolled over. "C'mon babies," she needled, making her way into the small attached bathroom. The dim sound of running water was heard, then she reappeared with a glass of water and threw it on top of Zhane. He spluttered, waking instantly.

   The blonde girl smirked. "That will never ever get boring."

   "You just like seeing me all wet," Zhane groaned, hoisting himself up. Andros peeked out of his covers, and saw Adair watching Zhane with the smallest flush on his cheeks. Zhane stretched, the shirt he usually wore to bed skirting a little up his abdomen. Adair's blush grew, and he buried his face into the blankets.

   Andros dismissed it, and rolled out of bed himself only to thump onto the floor. "Ow."_

   Zhane touched his forehead to Adam's knuckles softly, wishing he knew what the younger man was dreaming of as his eyes twitched.

_ "Adairach?" his mother called.

   The boy rolled his eyes at his full name. "Yeah?" he called. 

   "Your friends are here."

   Adair sighed. Sometimes they just didn't know when to leave well enough alone.

   "And that boy you like!"

   He paused, mid groan. He suddenly opted to start bashing his head into the wall.

   Taryan paused outside Adair's room – she could still hear a dull thump that resounded through the house. "Adair?"

   "Go away," a bleary voice commanded.

   Taryan opened the door, and indeed, Adairach was still bashing his head against the wall…although now it was few and farther between. "You can't understand English? Go. Away."

   "You like Zhane, don't you."

   Adair stopped at the beginning of another banging of the head.

   "You do, don't you?" Taryan suddenly worried. " 'cause maybe I'm reading this all wrong and…I dunno, you like Andros-"

   "Taryan," Adair interrupted, not looking at her. "I love Zhane."

   The girl smiled. "I knew it."

   Adair stood, extending his arms to the sides. Taryan just stared in confusion. "Okay…is this some ritual I don't know about yet?"

   The boy blinked. Silence reigned for a few moments before she 'felt' a sigh in her head.

   _Hit me. Do something!_

   "Why?" Taryan asked, the sixteen year old deliberately talking out loud.

   _…you don't hate me?_

   "Why would I hate you?" Taryan repeated, taking a few steps closer to Adair.

   Adair only closed his eyes and slumped, hands falling to his sides. Taryan rushed forward just as Adair's knees gave out and he collapsed. She held him to her, feeling all those suppressed maternal instincts coming to the forefront.

   He started to sob. Taryan pressed a kiss to his forehead as she rocked him, inwardly wondering what was wrong with him._

_  _"I'm leaving for Earth."_

   "What?"

   "Huh?"

   "When?"

   "Why?"

   "How?"

   "Where?"

   Adairach waited until his _dashal_'s questions had died down a little. "My mother and father are moving to Earth and I have to go with them."

   "When?" Andros asked quietly.

   Adair stared at his hands. "Tonight."

   "WHAT?"

   "They can't do that!"

   "You're a Ranger in training, they can't take you away!"

   Adair's laugh was bitter. "They can and they will."

   Taryan jumped up and enfolded the younger boy in a hard hug. "There isn't anything we can do, is there?" she whispered into his hair.

   He shook his head, knowing he'd cry if he said anything.

   A warm body pressed into him from behind, and an additional pair of arms wrapped around them all.

   "We'll miss you, little frog."

   It was Zhane who spoke, yet they all agreed._

_   "Buck up, son," his father said without emotion. "You'll get new friends."

   Adair watched forlornly as his _dashal_ bonded waved. Taryan was unashamed of the tears running down her face, while Andros looked only a minute or two from crying himself. Zhane was steadier than his friends, managing a tight smile.

   Adair ducked his head and walked after his parents into the ship, never looking back._


End file.
